Within a dozen breaths, the more than ten cultivators in the mid-stage of the Spirit Sealing Realm on the mountaintop had already descended, with some even surpassing Ji Yuan and the others.
Disregarding the depletion of their magic power, the cultivators pushed their speed to the extreme, their hearts filled with seething rage as they soared down, determined to find the one who had publicly toyed with them, and then tear him limb from limb and scatter his ashes!
The dozens of cultivators who had previously gathered on the mountaintop were now descending at the fastest possible speed, with some already fanning out across the ground, searching for Yang Qianhe, who had secretly snatched the treasure.
As the cultivators searched, a hazy halo suddenly appeared in the deep pit on the mountaintop, followed by the slow emergence of a gaunt man with an extremely pale complexion.
This man was none other than Yang Qianhe, who had toyed with everyone and left with the precious treasure!
He twisted his neck, his face no longer bearing that infuriating expression. After glancing at the numerous cultivators rapidly scattering in the distance on the ground, he gravely looked at the damaged furnace cauldron in his hand.
Although it was missing more than half, it could still be seen that the cauldron was originally a round, three-legged, two-eared vessel. Its material seemed to be neither gold nor jade, and it was covered in rust.
Beneath the rust, faint patterns could be discerned. While not overly complex, they were enough to captivate Yang Qianhe, his eyes revealing an irrepressible joy.
Suddenly, he seemed to sense something and quickly looked up towards a distant forest.
"Come out, no need to hide."
Yang Qianhe raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
As soon as he finished speaking, several figures emerged from the forest – it was Ji Yuan and the others, who had returned!
"We meet again!"
Ji Yuan stroked his chin, looking at the thin young man before him with a half-smile.
He should have descended the mountain with the other cultivators, aimlessly searching for the person.
However, halfway down, he suddenly had a feeling, a bold thought: what if this person had been hiding somewhere on the mountaintop all along and hadn't left after snatching the treasure?
If not, why would this person deliberately provoke the cultivators and attract so many enemies? It clearly defied logic.
Furthermore, given the person's audacity, it was not impossible. Therefore, already feeling that a fruitless search was pointless, he brought a few others back to the mountaintop.
As expected, without them doing anything, upon returning to the spot, they saw the person reveal himself.
"It's good you came. Saves me the trouble of staking out outside the Nine Xuan Sect for you later."
After a brief moment of surprise, Yang Qianhe suddenly broke into a smile, fierce light flashing in his eyes.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan couldn't help but frown. He felt that the person's words seemed to have a hidden meaning, not as simple as they appeared on the surface.
However, he didn't act rashly. Instead, he turned to look around and saw that from three other directions, several people were also ascending to the mountaintop.
"Yo, quite lively."
Yu Qingling surveyed the surroundings, his gaze lingering slightly on Ji Yuan and his group before he spoke with a smile.
Behind him, three inner disciples of the Nine Xuan Sect held their magical artifacts, their magic power circulating, ready to unleash powerful attacks at any moment.
From the other two directions, more people revealed themselves. One group consisted of five people, wearing moon-white robes, with crescent moons slowly revolving around them. They were clearly disciples of the Moon Gazing Sect.
As for the other side, there were only two people, but they posed the greatest threat. This middle-aged couple both exuded the aura of the mid-stage Spirit Sealing Realm, even seeming to be on the verge of breaking through to the late stage.
Although no one present could discern the origin of this middle-aged couple, even Ji Yuan felt a sense of danger that threatened him from them.
"It seems we weren't the only ones who discovered something."
Wu Chengqing muttered, his expression solemn but not overly worried.
Among the four factions of cultivators now present on the mountaintop, aside from themselves, there was another group of disciples from the Nine Xuan Sect. At least in terms of numbers, they held an advantage.
"Tsk tsk tsk, so many people have arrived. You all want what I have. So, who should I give it to?"
Yang Qianhe maintained his smile, his tone teasing as he said, "Why don't you fight it out first? Whoever is left standing, I'll give it to them."
However, no one paid him any mind. While all parties kept a portion of their attention on him, they were constantly appraising each other with their eyes.
The atmosphere here gradually grew heavy, and a killing intent brewed in the air.
At a certain moment, figures from all four sides suddenly lunged forward, over a dozen people charging ahead together!
Ji Yuan's eyes flashed with sharp light. Spiritual energy shimmered in his six acupoints, and six Heavy Water Pearls immediately appeared, shooting towards Yang Qianhe one after another.
Simultaneously, he flicked his sleeve, a handful of talismans clutched in his palm. In the next instant, they were scattered, transforming into twenty to thirty fireballs, water arrows, and the like, aimed at the Moon Gazing Sect disciples to his left.
On the other side, Yu Qingling manipulated two short swords, which transformed into streams of blue and red light, striking towards Yang Qianhe. The three inner disciples behind him simultaneously formed hand seals, unleashing spells towards the middle-aged couple to his right.
Although there was no prior communication, the two sides cooperated with remarkable tacit understanding, clearly intending to let others eliminate each other first before discussing how to divide the spoils.
The disciples of the Moon Gazing Sect were also unwilling to be outdone. Seeing talismans transforming into spells and shooting towards them like a tide, coldness appeared on their faces.
Four disciples of the Moon Gazing Sect simultaneously formed hand seals, then pointed with their other hands, and four crescent moons flew out, scattering pure white moonlight that intertwined with each other.
It was as if four crescent moons had risen, the flawless moonlight weaving a curtain that blocked all the descending fireballs and water arrows.
However, the four seemed to have underestimated the power of the talismans. The counterforce from the crescent moons caused their steps to falter, and they let out muffled groans, their magic power even faltering.
Despite their setback, they successfully blocked the assault, ensuring that a young man, appearing to be about eighteen or nineteen years old, advanced a certain distance.
This person, though young, had already reached the mid-stage of the second realm. His magic power appeared light and ethereal, but it contained a sharp intent.
He fiercely swung his arm forward, and the crescent moon beside him rotated at high speed and slashed out, intending to directly sever Yang Qianhe's hand!
However, at that very moment, a talisman appeared between the two, suddenly erupting with brilliant radiance. Instantly, countless branches grew wildly from it, forming a wooden wall in a blink of an eye!
The crescent moon, emitting pure white moonlight, slashed down, but it could not cut through the wooden wall. Furthermore, with the rustling of over a dozen branches, it became tightly entangled around the crescent moon.
"You court death!"
Seeing this, the handsome young man abruptly turned his head, looking to his right with killing intent in his eyes.
However, amidst his angry shouts, Ji Yuan's expression was somewhat peculiar. His gaze bypassed Yang Qianhe and fixed on the middle-aged woman who was twirling talismans in her hands.
It was clear that the wooden wall had not been cast by him, but by this middle-aged woman using a talisman.
Seemingly realizing his misjudgment, but fueled by the deep-seated enmity between the Moon Gazing Sect and the Nine Xuan Sect, he not only didn't retract his gaze but his killing intent intensified.
This young man slapped his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood containing pure magic power. It sprayed directly onto the bound crescent moon.
Instantly, the pure white moonlight flared intensely, erupting with countless sharp energies.
In just one or two finger snaps, the wooden wall was shredded by dozens of light blades. Then, a crescent moon, carrying light blades condensed from moonlight, shot towards Ji Yuan.
Seeing this, he frowned slightly, and then the phantom image of a seven-story pagoda suddenly appeared from within him, shielding himself and the few people beside him.
Clang, clang, clang!!!!!
A series of crisp sounds echoed as dozens of light blades descended. On the seemingly solid pagoda phantom, countless sparks flew.
And just as their vision was obscured by these sparks, a crescent moon violently slashed down, causing the phantom image to collapse!
Ji Yuan let out a cold snort, drawing the long sword on his back. After channeling magic power into it, he fiercely slashed towards the crescent moon!
With a sharp *ding*, the surroundings suddenly fell silent for a moment. Then, a torrent of powerful magic surged outwards in all directions, forcing everyone to retreat uncontrollably.
Simultaneously, although they had retreated two to three zhang, the Heavy Water Pearls Ji Yuan had previously launched were now upon them. Dense water light intermingled, emitting an incredibly heavy aura.
Yang Qianhe, seeing this, couldn't help but put away his smile and adopt a solemn expression.
He stomped his foot, and a formation he had secretly set up was instantly activated. Heavy flames surged upwards, transforming into waves of fire that rolled towards the six Heavy Water Pearls.
However, in an instant, amidst a "sizzle," a large amount of water mist diffused. The power of the Heavy Water Pearls was unable to immediately extinguish the fiery waves; instead, they stalemated in mid-air!
And just as Yang Qianhe's figure was about to be obscured by the water mist, Wu Chengqing suddenly waved the banner in his hand, releasing waves of fierce wind that blew away all the mist in the area.
Simultaneously, within the razor-sharp wind, he was forced to activate his protective spiritual light. Although it appeared shaky, he managed to withstand it.
Otherwise, even with his mid-stage Spirit Sealing Realm cultivation, he would have been injured by these wind blades.
But at this very moment, the blue and red streams of light, after a period of circling, suddenly appeared behind him. In an instant, they pierced through the precarious protective spiritual light and thrust into Yang Qianhe's back with immense force!
Magic power containing wind and fire attributes exploded at this moment. The blue and red light directly engulfed his figure.
Almost simultaneously, the fiery waves condensed by the formation dissipated, and the six Heavy Water Pearls shot forward, also striking his body.
However, Ji Yuan and Yu Qingling, who had struck at the same time, both saw their expressions change slightly. They immediately increased their magic power, causing the might of their respective magical artifacts and treasures to surge.
But before the two could breathe a sigh of relief, they felt an aura from their magical artifacts and treasures, erupting like a volcano.
Boom!!!
In the next breath, thick, inky black demonic energy erupted from Yang Qianhe's body. He was like a demon god, releasing a savage aura, his eyes blazing with terrifying red light.
Under the surge of demonic energy, Yu Qingling's pair of flying swords and Ji Yuan's six Heavy Water Pearls were immediately flung away. Moreover, a dark red strand of demonic energy coiled around both magical artifacts and treasures.
Under this demonic energy's corrosion, Ji Yuan felt the spirituality of the six Heavy Water Pearls weaken, as if contaminated by this aura.
Frightened, he quickly urged his magic power to shake off the demonic energy from the Heavy Water Pearls. In just a short time, the spirituality of this treasure had suffered minor damage. It would likely take more than half a month of nurturing and refining to restore it to its original state.
Glancing at the six Heavy Water Pearls circling around him with some heartache, Ji Yuan then looked at Yu Qingling not far away and saw that he also wore a pained expression, clearly his magical artifact had also suffered damage to its spirituality from this demonic energy.
Seeing this, the disciples of the Moon Gazing Sect and the middle-aged man who was about to make a move both paused slightly, their eyes filled with apprehension, and they temporarily restrained themselves.
A cultivator's strength largely depended on their magical artifacts or treasures. If their spiritual nature was contaminated by the opponent's demonic energy and damaged, their power would immediately decline.
Even if the damage was fundamental, it would not be a matter of money to repair it; no matter how much they tried to mend it, it would be difficult to restore it to its original state!
Furthermore, for powerful cultivators, their magical artifacts were closely linked to themselves and were often their life-bound items. Once severely damaged, it could even affect their own cultivation realm.
At best, they might regress by one or two minor realms; at worst, their cultivation would be stunted for life!
"Heh, weren't you all having fun fighting just now? Why are you all as stiff as stones now?"
Amidst the rolling, dark red demonic energy, Yang Qianhe's eyes flashed with red light, and he couldn't help but tease, "Oh, that's right. You're afraid that the demonic energy on me will damage the spiritual nature of your magical artifacts!"
He looked at the cultivators with a smile and asked in a mournful tone, "So now... what are you going to do?"
As his words fell, everyone's expressions sank. If they couldn't use their magical artifacts, their combat power would inevitably be greatly reduced, while he had no such worries and could fight freely.
However, as he was smiling, Yang Qianhe's expression suddenly tensed, and then he let out a strange cry and leaped into the air.
In the space of a moment, several streams of spiritual light struck from two directions. The fierce magic power engulfed the place where he had been standing, and the roar was deafening!